Generation Two - Chapter Twelve

Leon and I enjoyed a lazy lie-in the next morning. We took our time eating breakfast in the kitchen, and then made our way to the academy. The Scholar's Garden was immediately next to it, so we already knew where we were going from the day before.

It was mostly quiet. A sense of contemplation and respect was hanging in the air, even if it wasn't as strong as it had been the day before in the gardens. The occasional shouts from sparring students and the singing of birds were the only sounds to disturb the silence.

Since Leon had done well the day before, and I still wanted that promotion, I tried my own luck at the training dummy. I wasn't entirely sure how to hit it, but it was a lot harder than it had looked. Just when I thought that I had gotten the hang of it, it spun around and hit me straight in the face. It hurt, a lot, but it only encouraged me to keep trying.

Eventually, I earned my first belt, though I wasn't sure just how deserved it was.

However, it meant that Leon and I were now allowed to spar with each other, and I knew that he was as excited as I was. I was thrilled to show off what I had learned in this short period of time, and to see how well I could apply it against him.

Leon had had more time to practice, though, and had gotten pretty fast! He nearly got me on several occasions, and it was getting harder to evade his kicks. However, it was great fun, and I somehow even managed to win the match.

Sparring with Leon had definitely been more fun for me than using the dummy. When he hit me, it hurt, too, but it was soft flesh that hit me, not hard wood. And I learned a few tricks this way, too. He could show me some of the things that he had noticed and learned, and we could correct each other, so we were both improving.

We spent the entire day at the academy. We were nowhere near as good as some of the more seasoned fighters, of course, but I was still proud when I earned my second belt. I felt like I had truly earned it this time, and like I deserved it. I definitely had the bruises to show for it!

Leon went to shower inside the building, and since I had already showered I decided to try the board breakers. I had watched Leon break some foam boards, and was curious to see how hard it was.

Very hard, from the feel of it. After only my first attempt I felt as if I had broken my hand. It started to swell up almost immediately, and oh God it hurt!

It's probably needless to say, but I was done for that day afterwards. We went back to our room, and both of us felt shattered. We only had one more day left of our short holiday, and I felt as if time was slipping away if I wanted to pull this off while we were still here. That night, however, I simply felt too tired.

Leon and I had talked about this a few times, of course. He claimed he didn't mind that we hadn't had sex yet, but I had a feeling he was getting impatient. And why wouldn't he? Most guys wouldn't have stuck around as long as he had, which in a way was a compliment to me. I knew that he loved me, and that he was definitely staying for me and not for my body, but I hated to keep him waiting and I could tell that he hated waiting, too.

I still sometimes wished that he would simply take me, like you sometimes saw in films. It wouldn't be against my will, since I did want to, I just somehow couldn't get myself to make the first move.

The next morning, when I took a quick bath, I could feel the tension in the room. Leon was getting ready at the same time as I was soaking, and I could feel that he was trying his best not to look at my naked body. In fact, I looked over at him a couple of times, and it seemed to me like he was averting his eyes on purpose.

It made me feel worse, knowing that he was trying his best not to look at me. It was as if he had to hold himself back from jumping at me in the bathtub. I often wasn't sure why he was still with me, but I appreciated his patience.

As much as I wanted to end his wait, and mine, it just wasn't that easy. Somehow.

We spent our last day being lazy, and simply enjoying each other's company. We went back to the market and jumped into their huge water feature. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a pool or a fountain, but we didn't find any "Please Do Not Swim" signs, so we figured it was okay.

It was a hot day out. The water felt amazing, and very refreshing. The thoughts that filled my mind when I saw him without a shirt and wet... It would have been so simple to just go for it then. The market place was deserted, but I was too pressured by then.

Wasn't sex supposed to be something special? Maybe having set myself this limit had been a mistake. I obviously couldn't stick to it, and with each hour that we got closer to boarding our plane back home I felt more pressured to live up to it.

We eventually retreated back inside. The book shop had some interesting texts on the city's history, which we were both interested in, but the tension as we read the books was nearly unbearable. None of this tension was coming from him, it was all me. Also, I couldn't help but worry. What if he didn't stick around much longer for me to make up my mind? What if we did do it, but I was so bad at it that I wouldn't be able to make him happy?

I knew that the only reason I was having those thoughts was because I had set myself this stupid limit. I felt stressed on top of pressured, when all I wanted to do was enjoy our last day in China together.

The bookshop closed and kicked us out when the sun set. We still had roughly four hours, that was plenty of time!

"How would you like to go outside and watch the stars with me, beautiful?" It sounded amazing, but it wouldn't take me any closer to my goal. Instead of answering directly, I changed the topic.

"How are your shoulders feeling now?" He had felt particularly sore on his back, neck and shoulders since our day at the Academy, and I had an idea.

"Still pretty bad. How about you? Are your bruises hurting?"

"Turn around, maybe I can help." He did as I asked, and didn't ask why I hadn't answered his question again.

I thought, maybe, if I massaged him I'd get myself into the right mood, but nothing happened. Leon seemed to enjoy it, but he eventually turned around which forced me to stop.

"We don't have much time left, Ebony. Watch the stars with me?" He seemed so set on it, that I didn't want to refuse him.

Besides, it was nice. It didn't take my mind off my goal completely, but it let me accept that it wasn't going to happen while we were still in China, or under any other forced conditions.

I would just have to wait for the right moment.

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Wishes Fulfilled:

Spar with Someone
Train with Board Breaker
Visit the Forbidden City
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